Go without DH

[hrhdec01]

I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm planning a trip to WDW alone with the kids 12, 9, and 6. I'm off
for the summer and DH has to work. We did the big vacation (all 5 of us) in Dec. and bought APs. I'm for getting
the most for your money. It's a lot cheaper to go with 4 people rather than 5 and we have the
tickets. I'm more concerned about the drive. I figure that it's about 20 hours for me. The most I've
driven alone with the kids was 12 hours. That trip included the dog so I assume it'll be a little
easier this time. I feel safe on Disney property and using their transportation. Otherwise, I wouldn't be
planning to go.
Tracy

 

[SandraC]

I've had a change of heart ~ I can't see me ever leaving dh for a trip. As a matter of fact, I am shamed that I even considered it. He is such a great guy and he deserves my total undivided attention at all times. I hope he forgives me for ever letting the dreadful thought enter my pretty little head. I think I'll get out the sexy apron tonight and slave away in the kitchen making him a great dinner. I will beg his forgiveness and let him plan ALL our vacations! Oh yeah, I need to mention one more thing....April Fool's! Have a wonderful happy and humour filled day! Sandra

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Sandra C, you are too funny! I love your posts. BTW, before I was married I was a Sandra C. My Ds saw you post I was reading and Said you got to tell her that! Anyway thought this post was interesting and here's my 2 cents for what it's worth and without judgement! Right now we can only afford one big (like Disney) trip a year. It is important for our busy family to spend that one trip together.HOWEVER, if we could afford a second trip, DH, would be happy for DS and I to take a solo trip to Disney. DS and I are bigger WDW fans that DH and so we compromise at Disney one year and somewhere else the next. I also think that it is very important to foster individual relationships with in your family. DH and I try to get a way at least once a year alone for a week-end and DS and I sometimes get season passes for a not too distance theme park that we enjoy that DH does not. DS and I are looking at taking a week-end beach trip this summer alone too. Different things work for different families. If we could afford a second big vacation, DS & I would go to DW with DH's blessings.BTW, I asked him about it!

Jordan's mom

 

[SandraC]

Hey There "JORDAN'S MOM!" aka the ORIGINAL SandraC! LOL! I'm glad you took my last post in the good humour that it was intended! I really got into the "April Fools Day" spirit when I got nailed this morning on the THEME PARK ATTRACTIONS boards. Someone posted we were going to have to pay for FP. I fell for it soooooo bad! It was a hoot! I knew I would try a HA-HA on the boards. Again, thanks for seeing the humour ~ it's nice to know that folks still have a sense of humour and lighten up on such a fun and silly day! WDW is about fun! So let's all get with the spirit of WDW and enjoy! SEIZE THE DAY! Have a good one! Sandra

 

[skiwee1]

My husband doesn't like WDW too much either. He can handle it every 4-5 years and that is it. So I do leave him home! My mom loves WDW as much as I do so I take her and my little girl and we have a blast! DH and I go on many of vacations together but we perfer to split for these trips. He enjoys his time too as he and our son, who also is anti-Disney, go out on our boat every day and thoroughly enjoy themselves. If anything, going on seperate vacations say a lot of good about a marriage. One, that you can be secure in your relationship and trust each other to do things apart sometimes. And two, that you are mature enough to realize that marriage doesn't mean that you are glued at the hip. I think as long as you vacation as a couple just as much as apart shows that you have a great marriage.

 

[SandraC]

Hi Renee, I was curious, will you be driving down to Florida with your girls? I see you are from Ill. How long is the drive? Would your mom help you drive? I am considering the same thing when my kiddies are older. What resorts/hotels have you stayed at before? You are sooooo brave to be doing the cruise. I fear boats, even gorgeous big ships like Disney's. What time of year are you planning on going? You can get excellent rates at AKL during certain times of the year. Your girls are at great ages to help out planning! Chat soon! Sandra

 

[BethR]

Let me interject here with a few reminders from our Guidelines for Posting:

The purpose of these boards is to give the fans and visitors of Walt Disney World an opportunity to share their experiences with one another. This is to be a fun and enjoyable exchange.

Also:

If you have a personal comment for that person, please direct it to them via email. If the use of the boards for personal messages continues, those messages will be deleted. Remember, if the message is not intended for EVERYONE, it does not belong on the boards!

And:

NO FIGHTING!...Messages that are argumentative or sarcastic in nature will be deleted without discussion.

We would all be better served by following these guidelines.

Thank you!

 

[Rneighh]

Sandra -- we will fly. IT is a 20 hour drive. We are planning on a late Feb/early March trip to get away from the nasty northern Illinois winters. On past family (with DH) trips we have stayed at DxL and CSP, and off-site. I think my Mom would enjoy AKL with a savanna view especially if she decided in stay in the resort one day while we did the parks. She is not a thrill rider so on the day we want to do MK with Splash, Space, Thunder -- she may stay back at the hotel. I would love to stay for our usual 7-10 days but I may "kill" her if I am locked in a room that long with her -- kidding. She has not been to Disney since 1978 --- Epcot was just being built. I know she will love being on grounds and not having to drive around.

MJenni --- I cook, clean (bathrooms too), mother my children, work full time, and take care of 26 head of horses, 30 head of cattle, and 30 head of sheep. It all gets done and it all gets done well.

Renee

 

[Rneighh]

To everyone --- I don't mean to attack but I have been attacked and judged and I don't like it.
But I do love Disney and these boards. I think when I retire I want to be a CM at the Haunted Mansion or ToT. Until then I will have to satisfy my Disney addiction with an annual trip -- with or without my DH.

 

[ChiTownZee]

When you got married, you ceased to be two separate individuals, and became one team.

ROFLMAO, good golly!!! I wasn't aware that I died at my ceremony and was re-born into some kind of hybrid team entity! LOL
Personally, I am still very much an individual, just ask DH! Besides that I think my boss frown upon DH sitting next to me at work and I would become very annoyed if I couldn't do things individually.

Renee! I say go!! Maybe for a shorter time than you would normally go so you could still do something special with your Dh. I would LOVE to have a girls trip to WDW! Think of the all the girl-talk and giggling! Hey, can my DD and I go with?

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Wow... I am not getting something here. All of the friends I know have a different marrige "style". Some of them are joined at the hip, others take a lot of freedom... but I have never found one group to be any happier than the other.. the important thing is that the couple is in sync. Were I have seen problems is where one person is attached and the other wants freedom but nobody is describing that here. Somehow (and I can read no need to post a lot of he said, she said) this turned in to attacking each other over just having different styles! With the divorce rate in this country, if a couple finds something that works for them, my feeling is god bless.. but it may not work for someone else.
The original question was, what experiences have people had in traveling without their spouse and would it make sense to bring help..

I think your kids are a great age for a solo trip with mom! They are old enough that they will listen and hopefully not be the "handfull" they can be at a younger age! Just plan your hotel, etc to make transportation easy.. it depends if your kids are still Magic Kingdom types or have moved on to AK and Epcot. As for bringing Mom, I don't think it is neccesary UNLESS it will add to your enjoyment. I know people that have tried a trip like this with 4 and 5 year olds and have regretted it, but at your DD's ages? Go see the mouse.

 

[Barb D]

My DH has a "been there, done that" attitude about Disney. The kids and I could do it every year and not get tired of it. My sister lives in Orlando, so my mom goes with the kids and I. We combine a visit with my sister, a short visit to WDW (2-4 days) and a visit with my grandparents on the gulf coast. DH happily stays home. We've done this 3 times now, and will probably do it again. BTW, he's not really interested in ANY vacation, so if we didn't go without him we probably would never go anywhere.

 

[mikesmom]

My DH loves to go to WDW - we even own at DVC. But, that being said, DS and I have gone down to WDW by ourselves. It is sort of like a "date" - it's amazing how much good solid talking gets done between us. I also have vactioned there with DH and without the kids.

 

[cleo]

I so agree, mikesmom! DS and I have the best conversations when we travel together!

I couldn't imagine leaving DH home if he wanted to go somewhere with us, but I never hesitate to go without him when he'd rather not. DS and I travel together a few times a year during DH's busy season and it's really a delight. We not only have the pleasure of doing things we enjoy, but also the pleasure of coming home and sharing our memories and our pictures with DH. Everyone's happy and it's wonderful to have that special time with your kids. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

While DS (9) and I have not traveled to WDW alone, we have done other things including a large amusment park closer to our home. We started this when he was preschool age, getting season passes. There is nothing like the bonding one on one time. Somewhere like that you have nothing else to focus on but each other. Some of my best memories are of these times. Just like DH and I like to travel alone for bonding time, I cherish this alone time with DS. DH and DS get this time by going to all kinds of sporting events without me, oh darn!While we we have a strong solid family, I also have an incredible bond with each of them and they with each other. Cleo and Mike's mom, are these DS's not wonderful???!!!


Jordan's mom

 

[tmli]

My husband HATES to travel. Therefore my DS(5) and I travel to WDW without him every year. Sometimes we take my parents, sometimes we don't. When its just the two of us we just plan a little different. First of all staying on site was the only option. My husband would be worried about us if we were driving around in a rental or using other transportation. When we arrived at the airport we latched on to a real nice baggage handler and asked if he would stay with us as long as he could. They can go much further through the airport than a person without a ticket can. He took care of my luggage(in Toronto you have to keep it with you through all customs check etc.) and all I had to do was keep track of my son and deal with customs and security checks. Cost me $20USD he was very pleased and so was I. We had also arranged for a town car in Orlando. Was a little more expensive than Mears but they met me at the baggage area and again I only had to worry about my son. And of course as you all know once your in the world everything is only a bus ride away. We felt safe everywhere, even after dark. While we have fun with family members, our trip alone is our favorite memory. Now we're going to get an AP for the two of us and do it much more often. Besides my husband misses us so much when were gone He REALLY appreciates us when we return.

 

[SandraC]

Hi Tracey! WELCOME! I am in Ontario, Canada too! I giggled when I read your DH HATES to travel. When I first met my dh 19 years ago YIKES! He hated to travel too. He would tune the car radio thinking we were losing the station if we drove around the corner! LOL! When I met dh, he was a private pilot, our first date was in a Cessna 152! He had never been in an airplane that he did fly himself or jump out of (skydriver dude!). His travel experience was limited, a couple times to the Maritimes as a kid and teen ~ he mainly stayed around Ontario. When we started travelling as a couple, we took short and frequent trips to Niagara Falls and up north in Ontario. After being together about 3 years, I took him to Vancouver and Seattle (my family moved out there for a while ~ I used to live there too ~ I've lived all over the place while dh went from living with his parents to living with me ~ talk about opposites attract!) dh was nervous about not being the pilot but he did great. Never too thrilled about venturing out of Ontario, he would still agree to more trips and further away. He even admits that he's never too thrilled about the idea of travelling but he ends up having a blast while on vacation. Because he opened his mind to travel, my formerly "reluctant traveller" now really looks forward to trip! This April 2002 trip will be our 5th WDW trip together as a couple. We went twice before kids, once with just dd (ds wasn't born yet) and last year with our two kids and in a couple weeks with our two kids again. DH's trips of preferrance when we met was camping and travelling around Ontario without any direction or plan. At first I totally didn't get it! But because dh went along with my trips, I went along with his trips. We started seeing the benefits of both ways of travelling. DH and I are like the TV show "GREEN ACRES" I am spoiled Lisa and he is her hubby who climbs poles to make a phone call ~ LOL! After last years amazing WDW EVERYONE is looking forward to this WDW trip. We might consider a PEI trip soon. While not my first choice, I would like to see it. DH has come far, we are starting to talk about a European trip with the kids when they are older and DH thinks it's a great idea! WOW! Happy Days! Sandra

 

[tmli]

Thanks for the welcome SandraC. Talk about opposites I was a travel agent when we met. Had cruised and travelled lots, he was an auto mechanic. 5 star dining was eating in MacDonalds instead of drive thru. Now we own our own business and as he mixes with different people he's definitely more "Refined". He actually asked me to order a copy of the Disney Planning Video for him to look at. I think I'm wearing him down.

 

[SandraC]

Tracey, have you checked out the Canadian Boards? Lots of great info there too! Chat soon! Sandra

 

[LBYC-19]

Life is too short! Why not?

I wish my mom was alive, I'd love to take her to the world, especially if DH wasn't thrilled about going...have a blast.